For the Longest Time
by Explorer of the Unknown
Summary: During his time at Playa Des Losers, Trent Travis finds himself unable to remember the last time he wrote a good song. In spite of all the great things in his life, he can't seem to find inspiration anywhere he looks. Little does he know that what he seeks is about to come to him in a way and form he isn't expecting. My first Total Drama story. Please regard it kindly.
1. Stuck in a Rut

**Hello people of Fanfiction! This is going to be a first for me. Though I have written a few stories here and there, taking a crack at Total Drama stories will involve me stepping out of my comfort zone. So, I figured I'd start small and begin my Total Drama writing with a short story. I really hope you like it.**

**I don't own Total Drama.**

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"Trent, why don't you just take a break from this? You've been here since last night! You've gotta be exhausted!"

The only response given to Cody's plea was a grunt, one that was barely audible at best. The tech geek sighed and shook his head. "Look man," he said putting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "I know what that lady said was brutal, but it's not like we haven't had bad reviews before. Why are you letting this get to you so much now?"

The lady in question was a Mrs. Martha Mallory, a rather infamous writer who worked for the magazine _Music Now. _A woman who claimed to have been practically been born in the music industry, she knew talent when she heard it and also knew when performers were just wasting the time and money of themselves and their audiences. Accordingly, whenever she wrote a review, a musician's career could skyrocket or plummet depending on her judgment.

So it was during the brief period of time after Total Drama All-Stars ended and before Total Drama Pahkitew Island started that Mrs. Mallory attended a Drama Bros. concert. Though her article had not turned the band into a group of musical pariahs as they had feared, it still had a heavy impact on their front man Trent.

_"While I cannot deny that the Drama Brothers certainly do have great potential, I must be honest and say there will not be much of a future for them if they continue to sing songs that are rather repetitive in both sound and message. In the sincerest way possible, I advise lead singer and lyricist Trent Travis to consider topics other than recovering from lost love when writing new songs."_

The second Trent had finished reading the column the day before, he bolted back into the hotel resort that was Playa Des Losers. Despite none of them having been selected as contestants for the newest season of Total Drama, all former contestants were bound by their contracts to stay there and watch the latest episodes a few hours after filming and editing was finished. Another requirement was to interact with all eliminated contestants. Most of the cast didn't mind this as they all had to do the same thing a year previously back when Total Drama: Revenge of the Island first aired. They all figured Chris and the producers were counting on new conflicts being born which could bring new drama for future seasons.

One of the benefits of staying at the Playa was taking advantage of all it had to offer. Besides the pool, hot tub, juice bar, and barbecue outside there was also a small movie theatre, a bowling alley, and Trent's personally favorite place; a music studio that contained several instruments free for him and the band to use. Currently, Trent sat at the studio's piano and rested his head on the keys with Cody by his side.

"I don't get why it's bothering you so much," Cody said now sitting down next to him. "She was nowhere near as harsh with us as she is with other bands. Being a little repetitive in material isn't the worst thing in the world." Trent let out a groan as he raised his head.

"Because my songs are more than just a little repetitive Cody," he started to explain as he rubbed his eyes before turning himself around away from the piano. "She's right. As different as the lyrics in each song sound at first, they really don't stand out apart from one another in the long run." He then let out a yawn before continuing. "I've let myself fall into a rut and it's reflecting badly on all four of us because of it. I feel like I haven't written a good song for the longest time. At this point, I don't blame Harold and Justin for thinking about quitting."

Before he could stop himself, Cody nervously let out a small squeak. The other day he, Harold and Justin had a private meeting to discuss whether or not they really wanted to continue on as the Drama Brothers. Even before Martha Mallory's article had come out, none of them had felt that there last performance was as good as their earlier ones had been a couple years ago. Though Cody still wholeheartedly believed in the dream, their friends had their some reservations about it.

Justin, who never really was all that musically inclined to start with, felt more at home when it came to strutting down runways as a model. Whether it was showcasing new fashions for men or just flashing his bare chest, it was better suited for him than singing or dancing.

Harold on the other hand was truly growing weary of being any kind of celebrity; be it boy band member or former reality TV star. Despite many instances of his claiming to enjoy "playing the field," it was really just blowing smoke on the dweeb's part. Harold could have as many as thirty groupies to himself in a single room but he wouldn't enjoy himself if the lovely Leshawna wasn't present. Being famous was greatly cutting into their time together which Harold disliked with great intensity.

The three of them had discussed ways to break the news to Trent, the one responsible for bringing them together as a band in the first place. Justin and Harold had decided to go over it with Cody first, hoping to spare Trent's feelings a little bit longer. Despite past indiscretions on Total Drama and on the road, the four of them really had become good friends and to the two who wanted to leave, it was naturally hard.

Though Cody was initially shocked at their news, he was understanding and shared their worries. Whenever a show went sour, Trent took most of, if not all of them blame. Breaking something such as this to him would be anything but easy.

The conversation was interrupted when the three of them heard a noise right outside Harold and Cody's door. It sounded as if something had bumped into the hallway's wall. They opened it slightly and looked around but saw nothing. They surmised it as either DJ's pet Bunny having gotten lost inside the resort again or Sierra attempting to get yet another lock of Cody's hair for her collection.

What they didn't know after they had closed the door was that it was Trent who had been walking by. Wandering the halls in the hopes of clearing his mind with his head faced down, the musician stopped once he heard what they were saying. Not wanting them to see him if they left the room, he began to back up and leave but tripped over a loose shoelace (which he cursed himself for not noticing earlier) and fell backward. Luckily for Trent though, he was able to duck into his own room before his friends looked out.

In the far back corners of his mind the possibility of Trent finding out about this had occurred to Cody but he dismissed it. Something so similar to the plot of a TV sitcom was hardly possible of actually happening so why worry about it? Now he was mentally kicking himself for making such a bad call. In fact, he couldn't even look at his friend and instead chose to notice how interesting his shoes suddenly appeared. He brought his head back up when he felt a hand on his arm.

"I'm not mad at you guys Cody," Trent said with a knowing smile. He then stood up and allowed himself to stretch, having grown stiff after spending so much time at the piano. "Believe me, I totally get it. I mean, we never made any promises to do this for the rest of our lives? Who am I to deny Harold and Justin from what they truly want?" He turned back to face Cody and crossed his arms, but still grinned a little. "Although I am a bit miffed I was excluded from the conversation."

Hearing the joking tone in the cool guy's voice, Cody slowly began to smirk the sly smile that had given him such a large fanbase back during the first season. He got up and lightly punched Trent's shoulder before the two exchanged a high-five. The geek should have known better. While Trent may have had a few negative moments from time to time, he was nothing if not understanding. He'd have to remind Justin and Harold later.

"Well we better get upstairs dude," he told Trent as he began to exit the room. The dark haired young man raised his eyebrows in confusion which Cody took as a cue to elaborate. "Tonight's episode, remember? The producers are gonna get mad at us if we're not all in the room to watch."

Trent's eyes widened as he unconsciously smacked his forehead. "Aw man!" he exclaimed. "I can't believe I forgot!" He then sighed and began to follow Cody toward the door. "It's just as well. I haven't managed to come up with a single idea that seems good. You're right bro, I really do need a break."

Cody nodded and opened up the door. "Glad to hear it," he chirped. "So c'mon, let's go."

_THUD!_

Cody quickly turned back around and let out an exasperated moan. On the floor was Trent, flat on his back and totally conked out. His lack of sleep had finally caught up to him. The geek shook his head before heading off to find someone who could help him carry Trent to the theatre room.

...

"Sorry we're late everybody. Thanks for the help B, you can set him down on the bean bag over there."

Luckily Cody didn't have to go very far to find help in his endeavor as the strong, silent genius who was better known as B had been heading off to the theatre room himself when the geek had left the music studio. Happy to help, the larger boy effortlessly heaved the cool guy up onto his shoulder and carried him there without so much as a word (which was typical for him).

B did as he was asked and before anyone could say anything else, Cody was tackled to the ground by a squealing Sierra. "Eeee! Codykins!" she exclaimed jubilantly. "So that's where you were! Why didn't you tell me! I've been _so_ lonely!"

Hardly able to breathe, let alone explain himself, Cody merely motioned towards the TV with his head. Understanding his body language, Bridgette turned on the TV and the teens began to watch the show.

_"On the last episode of Total Drama..."_

The episode that day was a water challenge featuring jousting sticks, similar to the fictitious challenge that had been featured in the opening sequence for Total Drama All-Stars. Both the first and second casts were there to watch, only this time around they were joined by three of the eliminated members of the third cast; Beardo, Leonard, and most recently Rodney. Strangely though, Amy (whom the producers had so appropriately dubbed "the Evil Twin"), had been seen anywhere on the Playa that entire day. When Bridgette had called the producers about it, they merely told her not to worry and watch the show, their lack of care irking the surfer girl.

Right before the final scene, B was permitted to leave the room to ensure that the bounce house was working. Back during Revenge of the Island when Chris first revealed the Hurl of Shame, the former players took it upon themselves to give the newbies a soft, cushiony landing.

As everyone began to debate over what should be done and argue about whose ideas were better, Izzy nonchalantly set up a bounce house by the pool in the time it took her friends to blink. When asked where she got it, Izzy told them that she had swiped it from the TDA studio lot as she wanted a souvenir from the season. She claimed to have originally took the giant, animatronic monster from the first episode, but her parents forbade her from having _two _giant monsters in the backyard so she went back to swap it for the bounce house. Hardly anyone questioned Izzy over already having _one_ monster back home, as they believed they'd be better off leaving the topic alone and just be thankful she came up with a safe and effective solution.

Because those who were voted off took a ride down the Flush of Shame last season, the bounce house went unused. However, thanks to Sierra snooping around, they were able to learn of the dreaded Cannon of Shame before the first episode of TDPI and successfully blew it back up before Beardo made his landing.

Taking advantage of the door being open, Harold and Justin volunteered to take the still sleeping Trent back to his room so he could sleep soundly in his bed. Cody would've went along, but the dweeb and male model felt obligated to do so as they didn't have the nerve to get Trent out of the music room. That and Cody's uber fan wasn't releasing her iron grip on him anytime soon.

"Gosh, he looks almost as bad as he did back during the Awake-a-Thon," Harold observed as he and Justin were now walking outside along the pool. They had hoped that the cool night air would be able to stir Trent awake long enough for them to apologize but at the moment, all he did was mumble quietly. Not too far ahead of them was B next to the bounce house with binoculars in hand, keeping an eye out for whoever was eliminated.

"Which is exactly why I painted my eyelids during that challenge," Justin said. "There's a reason they call it beauty sleep my friend." He looked at his slumbering friend. "You think he'll be sore at us?" The two decided to stop walking for a moment and Harold shook his head. "If what Cody told us is true, I don't think so," he replied. "But gosh, he has every right to be. What we did was highly dishonorable."

The pair were interrupted when they heard Trent's mumbling grow louder. The nighttime breeze finally did its trick as Trent lifted his head and dazedly looked around. "Huh? Justin? Harold? Where am I?" Now that he was awake, his bandmates were able to let Trent stand on his feet and shake himself into coherence. Scratching his head, the cool guy took notice at the bounce house with his friend B still staring out into the sky. He turned to Harold and asked, "Did I sleep through the whole episode? Who got the boot today?"

The dweeb shrugged as did Justin before all three of them jumped slightly at a loud, shrieking noise. "I think we're about to find out," Harold said as the three of them dashed over to where B was standing.

"I cannot believe I got shot out of the stupid cannon! Again! All because of you, Sparemy!

"Nobody told you to come back you overbearing shrew! You could've just left me alone! For once in our lives!"

The eliminated contestant, or contestants as it were, had finally landed in the bounce house safely. However, neither one of them seemed to take notice of the four boys outside of it as they were both preoccupied with trading insults and attempting to pull out each other's hair. The boys could only stand and awkwardly glance at the spectacle as none of them wanted to dare risk their necks by going inside. When considering how intense fighting could get between girls in the history of Total Drama, one could hardly blame them for not wanting to intervene.

"So now the nice twin and the not-so-nice twin are both here now, right?" Trent asked deciding to finally break the silence, hoping to be brought up to speed. The others simply nodded in response, too stunned to really do anything else.

"Those two days on the island without you were the best of my life!"

"Yeah? Well those seventeen minutes without you were the best of _my _life!"

"Like you even remember that!"

By this point, Trent could not take anymore. He was tired, hungry, and desperately wanting to take a shower. Plucking up courage, he stepped toward the bounce house's entrance and tried to speak over the twins' argument.

"Look girls," he shouted as he pulled open the front flap. "You're both here now so why don't you guys just-OW!" Trent was cut off as one twin proceeded to rather strongly push her sister right at him not even realizing he was there. Before Trent could even register what had happened, he and the twin who was knocked into him were now sailing straight into the pool. If he wasn't completely awake before, the freezing cold water would change that. He surfaced and looked around for the twin no longer in the bounce house as he gasped for air. Thankfully, she came up a couple of seconds after him, shivering as she too breathed deeply.

"Are you all right?" He asked as he placed his hand on her shoulder. She began to look up at him and Trent could see that it wasn't Amy as her face did not have a mole on the cheek. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, clutching her head in shock. "I am so, so sorry! I-I didn't mean for that to happen! A-Are you alright?" Trent couldn't help but chuckle a little at her frazzled state in spite of how tired he was. He took his hand off her shoulder and held it out for her to take.

"Hi. You're Sammy, right?"

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**And that is the end of the first chapter. To be honest, I'm not sure how many chapters it will be but I do know who I should thank for inspiring me to write the story in the first place. Starryoak, Karts of Sugar Rush, LazyAwesomeNinja, chrisATD1, and most of all, Light of the Dawn. This one's for you Lo! If you're ever looking for a great TD story to read, check out one of theirs because I swear they are all amazing to say the least.**

**Constructive criticism is appreciated. Flames are not. I'll try to have the next chapter up in a week. Once again, I hope all who read this story enjoy it. Please review!**


	2. Their First Meeting Was a Real Splash

**Let me just start this chapter off by saying how sorry I am about how long this took. I originally intended for it to be out a lot sooner but, well you all know how life is; plan one thing, something else happens. I would also like to take the chance you graciously thank everyone who reviewed, followed, and added this story to their list of favorites. You all have no idea how much I appreciate that. Anyway, let's get rolling shall we?**

**I don't own Total Drama.**

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Sammy, shivering as she continued to float in the Playa's pool, blinked once. She blinked twice. She quickly began wondering if those few seconds submerged had left water in her ears. The nicer twin then started to stare at the young man floating near her as well as the hand he was extending in her direction. Was this really happening, or was the trauma of being fired out of a cannon with her sister so great that she was beginning to hallucinate?

Trent lowered his hand as his brows furrowed in confusion. "Sammy?" he asked, now hoping that his lack of sleep hadn't caused him to mistake one cheerleader for another. "Are _you_ alright?"

Hearing him say it again made Sammy to shake her head and snap out of the small daze she was in. Twice now he had said it. She tapped her hand on the side of her head but nothing came out of her ear. "You," she said timidly. "You called me Sammy." Trent's smile found its way back to his face as he chuckled again and shrugged. "Well yeah," he replied nonchalantly. "That _is_ your name, isn't it?"

"Ugh! No! I knew you were whacko Guitar Boy but I didn't think you were stupid too!"

Both Trent and Sammy looked over to the edge of the pool and Saw Amy looming over them as Harold, Justin, and B stood behind her nervously, all looking fearful of what she might do now that she was out of the bounce house. Almost immediately the calm look on the musician was replaced with a glare. "Why Amy," Trent said in a sarcastic tone that sounded strikingly similar to the one Noah so infamously used. "It appears you haven't changed a bit, I'm sorry to say."

The meaner twin scoffed as she crossed her arms and stuck her nose up snootily. "Was that supposed to be an insult?" she sniped. "I guess I can't expect much from someone who's too stupid to know that my frump sister's name is _Samey!" _Had her eyes been open after making that comment, Amy would've seen that she was on the receiving end of angry looks from all three boys standing behind her as well as an even angrier look coming from the water.

"Samey is _not_ my name," Sammy started to growl which caught Amy's attention once more. "He's _not_ stupid _or _whacko, and you are the world's _biggest _jerk!" She really wasn't surprised at all. Amy was the kind of person who really wasn't happy unless she was insulting someone. Though she usually used Sammy as her sole target for disparaging remarks, that didn't spare anyone else she didn't like from them every now and then. However, Amy snapping at Trent like that wasn't the only thing that bothered the younger sister. Back home, it was the cool guys like him that Amy flirted with on a daily basis in addition to ensuring that none of them even acknowledged Sammy's existence. Just what had happened between the two of them?

Meanwhile Amy, who apparently still wasn't used to her twin's newfound backbone, looked furious enough to the point that Harold and B deemed it necessary to restrain her before another physical confrontation occurred.

"Biggest?! _Biggest?!" _Amy shrieked, attempting to raise her left fist. "Are you daring to call me _fat_?! You're the fat one Samey, Topher noticed it too!" While B wasn't having any trouble in holding back Amy, Harold unfortunately lacked his upper body strength and was starting to lose his grip. "The 'biggest' she's referring to has nothing to do with your weight," the nerd wheezed. "I'm pretty sure she means that in the figurative sense." The response he got was an elbow to the stomach which caused him to stumble backward after letting go of Amy's arm.

"Justin," Harold breathed out between coughs. "I think you better break _them_ out." The male model nodded and without hesitation, ripped off his shirt and struck a pose. Before Sammy had a chance to react, Trent had placed his hand over her eyes and whispered, "Trust me on this. Right now, it's best for you not to see."

Amy took one look at the Hawaiian before her and in the blink of an eye her jaw hit the ground. Almost immediately her knees grew weak and B had to completely support her so as to prevent her from falling in the pool herself. "So, so many abs," she said goofily, her tongue now hanging out. "Such beauty..."

B, Harold, and Trent couldn't help but roll their eyes at this display while Justin wore a grin of smug satisfaction. "Looks like I still got it," he laughed. "I'd like to see Alejandro's chest shut Heather up that fast."

Harold picked himself up and dusted off his shirt before waving a hand in front of the now babbling Amy's face. "Gosh, I think it's more effective now than it was a couple of nights ago," he observed. "Think you can get her to her room? And maybe stick a chair in front of it before Courtney gets there just in case?"

Justin nodded as he took Amy's hand and led her away from the others. "Come with me my little harpy," he said with a smooth, almost hypnotic sounding voice. Amy said nothing (understandable anyway) and followed him, stumbling every few steps as she kept her gaze locked firmly on his body.

With the two of them gone, B was now able to offer his freed hands to Trent and Sammy and pull them up out of the water. Trent now took his own shirt off and proceeded to wring it out as he looked in the direction Justin and Amy had left in. "I know this'll sound mean but I'm honestly surprised he knows the word 'harpy'," the musician noticed. He shook out his shirt a few times before putting it back on. He then looked up at the silent genius. "Thanks for the help big guy."

B smiled and gave a thumbs up before turning round and heading off in order to deflate the bounce house. "His mother hired me to tutor him," Harold began to explain while pulling a notebook out of his pocket. "Apparently she's tired of people referring to him as, 'the dumb Alejandro'. I've been having him read some of my old fantasy novels to better expand his vocabulary." He scratched his goatee in thought. "I'm actually surprised. That's the first word on the list I gave him he's used correctly. Maybe because it's related to women?"

Trent simply shrugged and let out a yawn. "No idea," he replied. "All I know right now is that the Sandman's calling my name." Harold put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Let me help you get to your room," he offered. "I wouldn't want you to end up hitting the ground again." Trent chuckled as he patted the dweeb's back. "Thanks H-Bomb, but it's okay," he said. "You can head back to the others. I know _someone_ will be waiting for you."

Harold's face had an expression that was made up of both guilt and sheepishness. "Are you sure?" he asked. "I mean, gosh, you've already fallen to the floor once. What kind of friend would I be if I let that happen again? Justin and I feel bad enough as it is over, the other thing."

Trent just smiled and shook his head. He wrapped his arm around Harold's neck before trapping him in a headlock and giving him a friendly noogie. "You think I'd hold a grudge over you two for something like that?" he grinned. "You guys were just trying to spare my feelings and I couldn't be mad about that if I tried."

Seeing Trent smile let Harold know for sure that he wasn't in trouble which allowed him to laugh along with his friend as he struggled to break away from his grip. "Aw come on dude!" His arms began to flail around but the musician wasn't showing any signs of loosening his hold. "Gosh! Let me go!" When Trent finally did, the dweeb gave him a playful punch on the arm. Trent then raised his hand up and Harold gripped it. "I'd be lying if I said I won't miss performing with you guys," the former said. "But I don't wanna keep you from doing what you really want. Whatever you decide, I'm cool with it."

Letting each other's hands go, the two turned to see B having stuffed the bounce house back into its box, nodding his head in approval and pointing at them. Sammy on the other hand, seemed to just be staring at the ground, having not said a single word since her sister had left. Seeing her like that confused the two bandmates. They looked back up at B, who waved his hand in front of her face. When no response came, the genius shrugged.

Trent walked up to her, slightly crouching so he would be at her eye level. "Sammy?" he asked quietly. "Is something wrong?"

"Thank you."

All three boys exchanged confused glances with one another before seeing Sammy raise her head. With Amy no longer with them, the younger twin's anger was also gone and a small, shy smile was on her face.

"Thank you," she repeated. "Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much it means to me to hear someone call me by my name. My _real_ name." Hearing her explanation, Trent relaxed and chuckled once again. "Don't mention it," he told her. "No biggie."

Sammy shook her head. "You're wrong," she said. "_Major_ biggie. I know it sounds sad, but no one other than my parents has called me Sammy for the longest time." She began to nervously rub her arm, her gaze shifting downward once more. "So again, thank you."

She then felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Trent's face. "You're not gonna have to worry about that here," he said kindly. "There are no cameras around and until the season is over, no Chris either. Everyone here will be more than happy to call you Sammy, Sammy."

To Trent, it was amazing how someone so callous, so overbearing as Amy could possibly be related to someone as kindhearted and helpful as Sammy. All the former players had seen the first episode of the new season. Amy might've been able to trick her fellow players on Pahkitew Island, but that wouldn't happen now that she was once more around people who had seen her real nature for what it was.

"Well," Harold piped up. "Maybe not exactly _everyone_." When the others began staring at him, he elaborated. "You're forgetting those with particularly nasty dispositions such as Heather and Scott. And Courtney too, if she's in a bad mood which tends to happen rather frequently. And of course you can't forget how bad Lindsay is with people's names and-" he was cut off by B placing his empty hand over his mouth, giving him a look that clearly said, "Not helping."

Trent put a hand to his forehead and sighed. As much as he liked Harold, he could never deny that the nerd had some of the worst timing when dealing out information. To Harold's credit, he had actually said something that was relevant to the conversation.

He turned back to Sammy and said, "While there are some people who aren't that different from your sister as far as personalities go, trust me when I say that there are even more people who'll be nothing but nice to you. A lot of them are all good friends of mine." Given the smile that was on the cheerleader's face, Trent assumed that his statement must've sounded reassuring.

"I can believe that," Sammy replied. "I watched the show a lot before auditioning so if nothing else, I know three really nice guys are standing right in front of me." Trent, Harold and B beamed at her, happy to hear such words.

Trent nudged his head in the direction that led towards the theatre room. "Why don't you join Harold and B so you can meet everyone," he suggested. "I'd come along but," he paused to yawn again. "I really need to hit the sack. I haven't been getting as much sleep as I should be lately."

Whether it was due to how contagious a simple yawn could be, the scuffle she had with her sister after being shot out of the cannon, or a combination of both, Sammy found herself yawning too. Given the day she had, she really wanted to sleep too despite it still being relatively early and how much she wanted to meet some of the players from the first and second casts.

"If you guys don't mind," she started, sounding the tiniest bit timid. "I kinda would like to go to bed myself. Now that I don't wanna see everybody it's just been one of those days, you know?" To her relief, the others gave her understanding smiles and nodded their heads.

"C'mon then," Trent told her. "I can show you the way to your room before heading back to mine. Harold, you mind telling everyone what happened?" He shot B an apologetic look. "I'd ask you dude, but I'm pretty sure only Dawn would be able to understand right off the bat." The silent genius gave another thumbs up, with the dweeb soon doing the same.

"Just as long as you get some sleep," Harold said, scratching the back of his head. "And you know, sorry about the whole-" Trent put a hand up to stop him from saying anymore.

"Apologize again, and I'll give you another noogie," he warned with a smirk. He bumped fists with Harold and B both before gesturing Sammy to follow him. "This way, you're going to be pleasantly surprised." Sammy nodded and waved good-bye to the other two before doing as Trent said.

Sammy had stayed at nice hotels during trips with her family, (though Amy had tried multiple times to force her to sleep in the hallways or in closets) but she had never once been anywhere that was as luxurious as the interior of Playa Des Losers. Her eyes went wide in awe as she tried to take in everything surrounding her. Trent was able to catch this as he led her inside and grinned.

"Nice isn't it?" he spoke up, slightly startling her from her gaze. "We all figure Chris allows us to stay here so we don't try to sue him after all the crap he puts us through on the show. Though it really hasn't stopped Courtney, Heather, Noah, Dakota..." He began counting off his fingers. "Actually now that I think about it, it'd be easier to list those who aren't suing him." He turned back to look at Sammy who was looking at him with an unsure expression. "Something on your mind?"

Having quickly remembered something that had been nagging at her mind for a few minutes, Sammy tried to open her mouth to speak but found herself still being overwhelmed by everything happening at such a fast pace.

"Um, I...uh.." she stuttered out. "W-What I mean is...um... Inwardly Sammy desperately wanted to kick herself. Why was she so scared of talking to Trent? She had just met him and it wasn't as if he had said anything rude or mean, so why was she finding herself unable to say what she was thinking about?

She shook her head and took a deep breath before starting over. "What I wanted to ask was," she was now able to clearly say. "Did my sister do something to you? I mean, from the episodes I've watched you never seemed like the type to well, speak to someone the way you did to Amy. N-Not that there's anything wrong with what you were saying to her! Trust me, it was benign compared to the way I _wish_ I could talk to her."

Fortunately for Sammy, Trent didn't seem to be annoyed by her rambling. He merely chuckled as he ran his head through his hair in thought. "It's really not something you need to worry yourself over," he started to explain. "She just, said some things that really rubbed me the wrong way."

When the nice twin looked as if she was about to ask what had been said, Trent reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Flipping it open, he held up for her to see a picture of himself at a much younger age, sitting on the lap of an older gentleman with a pot belly, a kind smile, and the same green eyes that Trent himself had.

"This is a picture of me and my Granddad, Louis Neville." Trent smiled a little before soon furrowing his brows and frowning. "Amy, said that he wasn't real and that the whole train story was something I made up so people would feel sympathy for a, 'creepy stalker with a number nine fetish.'" He closed the wallet and placed it back into his pocket.

"I cannot believe she'd be that _cruel_!" Sammy gasped out in shock. "Besides anyone other than me, I mean." Anger boiled within her as she heard herself growling as she was earlier. "Ugh! She has no tact! No consideration for how people feel! I..." She stopped yelling once she turned to see a concerned Trent facing her. "I'm really sorry," she calmed down and suddenly began growing shy once more. "I wish I could say she didn't mean to be like that, but it wouldn't be true."

Trent simply shrugged and smiled again. "Don't worry about it," he said. "It isn't your fault. Just because she's your twin doesn't mean you should take responsibility for what she does." Sammy smiled at this. To have met someone like this not long after meeting someone as kind and supporting as Jasmine, it was almost too good to be true. The musician stopped at a door that had a sign which read, "Room 10," hanging from it. "Here we are."

He opened the door and let Sammy walk in first. It was set up like a room one could expect to see in a college dormitory. One side of the room was completely plain, having nothing excepting a bed which had a few travel bags placed on top of it. The other side had a few plants, a couple hanging from the ceiling and one on the nightstand, as well as a few birds nests scattered around.

"My stuff!" Sammy exclaimed happily walking over to the bed where her things were. "I thought most of it was destroyed when Chris blew up the zeppelin! I was only able to find one bag, how'd the rest of it get here?"

"You can thank the interns for that," a small voice spoke up. Sammy jumped in surprise and turned to see none other than the famous moonchild from Total Drama: Revenge of the Island; Dawn. Trent just stood in the doorway, seemingly unaffected by Dawn's suddenly appearing from nowhere. Having met her after she had been eliminated and watched Total Drama All-Stars with her, he had grown used to the strange stuff she did and didn't bother questioning it. "Sammy, this is your roommate, Dawn Ferrel."

"Greetings my friend," Dawn smiled. "Your aura is a beautiful shade of pinkish blue. I am glad that you are no longer afraid of striving for your independence." While most people were normally freaked out whenever Dawn read their aura, at that moment Sammy could've cared less at how weird it seemed. "I'm not sharing a room with Amy?" she squealed in excitement. When Dawn nodded, the taller girl wrapped her arms around her in joy.

"This is amazing!"

* * *

**I believe that this is a good place to stop for now. I'll be honest and say that I'm honestly not sure how long this story will be. It won't be too long but I don't want it to be too short either. Before anything else, I would like to thank Starryoak for allowing me to use the surnames she created for nearly all of the Total Drama kids. I also wish to thank Galactic-Red-Beauty of DeviantArt for giving me an awesome cover image for this story. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as the last one. I don't know when the next one will be out but I promise to make it as good as I can.**

**I made a few edits to the first chapter which I hope everyone will enjoy, though they are a bit minor. Constructive criticism is appreciated. Please review! Happy Labor Day! Good night everybody!**


	3. Her Roommate's a Mystic?

***Peeks out from behind a giant shield* Hey there everybody. Remember me? *Barely dodges several rocks* Okay I had that coming. Before anything else, let me sincerely apologize for keeping you all waiting for three months for this chapter. But in my defense, school has kept me pretty busy as it does so many of us. I also won't lie, you guys shouldn't expect too many updates from me after New Year's. Nevertheless, I plan on finishing this story! And to make up for leaving you guys hanging, I've got a couple of special surprises at the end of this chapter.**

**Again, I don't own Total Drama.**

* * *

Sammy's eyes widened when she realized that she had hugged a person she had known for less than two minutes. When she looked downward and saw that she was still embracing Dawn, she began to feel slightly bashful and let go. "Sorry about that," she said nervously. "I don't know what came over me."

"I would say a feeling of great euphoria at the prospect of sharing a room with someone other than your twin," Dawn replied nonchalantly. Seeing Sammy's bewildered expression, the moonchild could only smile.

"Am I correct in assuming that you've never had your aura read before?" she asked politely. Her new roommate silently nodded, still in awe of her. Dawn giggled a little before walking over to her bed and sitting down in the lotus position.

"It's quite all right," she said in a reassuring voice. "While I can see many different thoughts and feelings throughout your soul, I promise you that nothing will be said unless you want others to know."

To say that Sammy was amazed by all that was happening would be an incredible understatement. She was meeting Dawn, rooming with her, _and _having her aura read by her, all in one night! No matter how much she wished she could appear to be cooler and calmer, due to Trent still being there, she could not wipe the wide-eyed look of surprise from her face.

As for Trent, who had been leaning against the door frame during the introduction between the two girls, he chuckled as he walked over to Dawn. "I gotta say I'm impressed by you," he said. Much to Sammy's surprise, the cool guy started to tousle her head much like a proud father would do to his child. She also couldn't help but notice that Dawn didn't seem to bothered by it. Just how close were the two of them?

"Not too long ago you probably would've blurted out some embarrassing secret," Trent went on, once again letting out a small yawn.

Dawn calmly removed Trent's hand from her head and smirked. "Yes well, as some have kindly and others not so kindly told me, just because I can easily read people does not mean I should always read aloud," she said back. "Though it is not a secret that you should not be depriving yourself of sleep for much longer, unless you want to collapse onto the floor again."

Trent laughed again and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Cody didn't even have to tell you, did he?" he asked. When Dawn shook her head no, he sighed and stretched.

"As usual, you're right," he admitted. "If I don't get to my room soon, I'll be liable to be seen sleeping on the floor. Night Dawn."

He began to walk out of the room but stopped as he reached Sammy. "Just so you know, you're getting a great roommate here," he told her with a smile. "She may seem a little...eccentric but she's always someone you can count on when you need her."

Hearing such praise only strengthened Sammy's curiosity regarding what kind of relationship Trent and Dawn had. However questions could always be saved for another time. There was something that she just had to say to the boy before he left. A statement that to her, would not seem as significant if not said right then and there. As Trent turned to go, she spoke up.

"Umm...Trent?" she stammered. Though she could not help how small and shy her voice sounded, she was determined to say what was on her mind. "N-No, no matter what Amy or anyone else says, y-you're not, you know crazy."

Before Trent had turned completely around to face her, Sammy's head faced downward which concealed her now reddening cheeks. Since he didn't say anything but was still standing there, she continued. "About the whole number nine thing? I-I won't lie, it did seem a little weird to me when I first watched Total Drama Action."

Sammy gathered up as much courage as she could and looked up, hoping desperately she wasn't blushing too much. "But I really do think it's a very sweet way to remember your grandfather. I'm sorry you lost him when you were little."

Much to her relief, Trent didn't seem to find anything wrong with what she just said. On the contrary, he was smiling at her.

"Thank you," he replied warmly. "You have no idea how much it means to hear someone say that." He began to walk out again but turned his head slightly. He began to walk out once more but turned his head back a little after stepping into the hallway.

"I think it's great that you're here Sammy," he said. "Though I'm sorry you lost your chance at a million bucks, at least you managed to leave with a cool souvenir."

Sammy blinked in confusion. What souvenir was he talking about? The only thing that had gone into the cannon with her was Amy and that was definitely _not_ cool.

Reading her face, Trent chuckled again and put his hands on the sides of his head. Sammy mimicked the motion and after feeling something other than her hair, she flushed scarlet. She was still wearing the crash helmet that Chef Hatchet had jammed onto her head before she had been blasted away from the show.

"T-Thanks," she mumbled before taking the helmet off. "But I don't really think I'll keep it. I mean, after today I doubt I'll need it much."

Trent put his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "You never know," he advised. "One day you might find yourself wanting it." He bade both girls good night and went across the hall his room, Room 9.

Sammy had waved him off and was still unconsciously waving even after she had closed the door. Dazedly, she took a few steps backward and fell right onto her bed. "Wow," she quietly swooned.

"You have nothing to worry about," Dawn spoke up, startling Sammy a little who had momentarily forgotten the other girl was present. "Trent and I have always been just good friends and we will never be anything more than that."

This remark caused Sammy to immediately bolt upright. "W-W-What do you mean by that?" she sputtered. "W-Why would I worry about that?" Dawn, still smiling, shook her head and turned to face her roommate directly.

"Having a celebrity crush is nothing to be ashamed of Sammy," the moonchild continued in spite of Sammy's now flustered state. "It is perfectly normal and expected of young men and women our age. You cannot help how you feel."

Sammy sighed and slumped onto her back again. She was sharing a room with a psychic, what point was there in trying to keep anything secret from her? The cheerleader gazed toward the ceiling with a defeated look on her face. That aside, she would probably be better off if she quit lying to herself about her feelings for the musician.

She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it as she was unsure of how to best put her thoughts into words. As she thought, she suddenly began squeezing the helmet still in her arms as if it were an old teddy bear.

"I-It's just that, I haven't even known him for an entire day," words finally made their way to her mouth. "I mean, all I know about him is from what I've seen on TV and that really isn't much. Besides, he and all the other Total Drama boys have girls claiming to be in love with them without actually meeting them in person. I'd hate for him to think that I was anything like those crazy fans."

Dawn nodded in understanding. "I agree that many fans believe that their ideas of love are the same as being in love," she replied. "One of Trent's fans in particular, a young girl by the name of Kelsey is a prime example of such behavior."

The moonchild then did something that caught Sammy's eye. Right after mentioning Kelsey's name, her expression shifted downward and became suddenly solemn. To the cheerleader, it was looking at someone staring hopelessly at something that completely broken beyond repair.

Before Sammy could ask what was the matter, Dawn quickly looked back up at her. "But you're very different from girls like that," she said looking and sounding brighter. "You believe that more than just a physical attraction is necessary for there to be love between people and you actually want to get to know Trent as a person. You're logical and think it's better to become friends with someone before deciding if you really love them or not.

Dawn leaned over to the younger girl and beamed at her. "That's wonderful Sammy, it really is."

Sammy looked towards her new roommate and couldn't help but smile. "Thank you Dawn," she replied. Her brows then furrowed as she remembered something she had wanted to ask, but not while Trent had still been in the room earlier. "So if you don't mind my asking, have you and Trent always been so close?"

"Not when we first met," Dawn shook her head. "Trent had been hurting a great deal back then but because he did not wish for anyone to worry about him, he bottled up his emotions which caused his aura to turn a rather ugly shade of blackish purple."

She then began to stare out the window of the room, memories flowing through her mind the like the waters of a river. "When I approached him, he stubbornly denied his internal strife, even though he believed of my gift to look into people's souls. After a few days, following an incident where he lost his temper at reporters who had been following him around, he came to me and opened up."

A small pang of sadness struck Dawn as she recalled Trent's sorrowful words from over a year ago...

* * *

_I know that Gwen and I didn't work out. I know that Duncan really does make her happy. Even so, knowing all that doesn't stop it from hurting. Every time I see them together, laughing, hugging, kissing it hurts. It hurts a lot. It hurts even more when people from the paparazzi ask me about them. It reminds me of how much I screwed up. But what can I do? They've already got Courtney swearing to make both of their lives miserable on a daily basis. If I tried to threaten them like that I just know Gwen would hate me and I...I couldn't take that!_

* * *

"He really just needed a shoulder to cry on," Dawn explained. "Someone who wouldn't be harder on him than he already was on himself or try to suggest ideas of revenge to him. He couldn't talk to the other Drama Brothers as they were more likely to tell him what he wanted to hear more than what he needed to hear. When he asked for my help in truly moving on, I was all too happy to oblige."

Sammy had been listening intently and was beginning to feel tears well up in her eyes. She remembered reading articles regarding the infamous "Gwuncan" Total Drama pairing and what other contestants thought of it. Said articles had told of Trent's insistence that he was perfectly fine as long as Gwen was happy. The nice twin cursed herself at how naïve she had been in believing that. Of course he wouldn't really be fine with it! No person could be happy with such a situation unless they had a heart made of stone!

The tears now running down Sammy's face had not gone unnoticed by Dawn. "Are you all right?" she asked with concern. Sammy nodded and urged her to go on, wanting to hear even more.

"After that first real talk our friendship blossomed," Dawn continued with a small smile. "I now think of Trent as the older brother I never had. Not only would he listen to me as I would to him, he defended me when people such as Heather deemed it necessary to try and put me down."

"Wow," Sammy breathed. "So he really is a great person." It was then that she finally noticed that she was still holding onto the star-patterned helmet. As she set it onto the night stand beside her bed, Dawn closed her eyes to begin her meditation.

"Indeed he is," she agreed. "But he is not without faults. He used to frequently gamble not too long ago, but it is not that much of a problem anymore."

Sammy's eyes widened in shock. "Gamble?" she asked and the smaller girl nodded in reply. "He'd make at least one bet every night we watched a new episode of Total Drama," she said. "Just little, friendly wagers he would call them. I and a few of our other friends found it unsettling to make bets when others were often in danger because of Chris but after he won a certain bet, he swore off any more gambling."

"What kind of bet was it?" Sammy asked, now even more interested than she was before.

Dawn's smile was now growing into a bit of a grin as she had been hoping for Sammy to ask that.

"It happened after Mike had been eliminated from the game during Season Four," she began. "Duncan, who has always been quick to judge others despite his own deep fear of the same being done to him, had been getting on the nerves of several people with claims that Cameron and Zoey would easily be taken down by the three villainous players still competing."

Sammy felt a small twinge of annoyance after hearing that. She had seen Revenge of the Island and by that point in the show, had seen both the bubble boy Cameron and indie chick Zoey display abilities that could carry them all the way to the top. What right did Duncan, who had lost to Owen, Total Drama's (literally) biggest underdog in Season One, have to say who'd win and who'd lose?

_"Then again,"_ she thought to herself. _"Look who I'm thinking about."_

"Trent has always been a strong supporter of the little guy, no matter the contest." Dawn's voice snapped the cheerleader from her thoughts and back to listening to the story.

"So naturally, of all the people who were growing weary of Duncan's badmouthing, it was he who decided to put an end to it." Dawn began to look up at the ceiling now herself, appearing rather contemplative.

"As I said, I wasn't very fond of Trent's gambling but when I heard what he wanted if he won instead of money, I decided not to say anything about it." The moonchild's grin grew even wider, as if she was attempting to restrain herself from laughing as she remembered what happened...

* * *

_"You think you're too good for my money Elvis?" Duncan sneered. "Okay then fine. If that geeky, pencil-necked shrimp Cameron is the next one hurled, then I win and you gotta give me your guitar. I'm sick of all that wussy pop crap you've been playing lately and I know I make much_ _better music with it."_

_"Deal," Trent agreed and a collective gasp from the people around them resonated throughout the room. It was shocking enough that Duncan would even think of asking the music man to stake his prized possession, but no one would expect Trent in a million years to accept such a wager._

_In less than a second, many of Trent's friends began to swarm and urge him not to do something so risky. However he ignored their pleas and just stared straight at the delinquent standing across from him._

_"But if Cam or Zoey win the next challenge and Lightning, Jo, or Scott are next to go," he said in complete seriousness. "Then you Mr. Bad Boy have to go by and can only answer to the name 'Snugglemuffin' for an entire week."_

_Everyone who had been trying to talk Trent out of the bet suddenly froze. Jaws began to drop and dumbfounded faces quickly started to sprout up. After a few seconds, an uproarious laughter erupted from the teenagers, many falling over or clutching their sides._

_As for Duncan, he merely scoffed and strode forward. "You're on," he said smugly and the two shook hands to make it official._

* * *

"Snugglemuffin?" Sammy asked in disbelief. Dawn nodded in confirmation and the nice twin broke into a fit of giggles.

Dawn simply shrugged. "Apparently it was the name of a teddy bear Trent had seen Lindsay show to Tyler earlier that day," she said. "Needless to say, when Cameron won the next challenge by using his rocket to down the zeppelin that Heather had stolen, the following week was anything but kind to Duncan."

She allowed herself to laugh as well. "Not even Gwen was willing to show him any pity."

* * *

_"Aw c'mon babe! Not you too!" Duncan complained to an unsympathetic Gwen who was reading by the pool. "I mean, I blew up a mountain resembling Chris's face for you!"_

_"Yes and I thought it was very sweet," Gwen replied without taking her eyes off her book. "But I warned you that all that gambling would come back to bite you and you didn't listen to me. You brought this onto yourself Snugglemuffin." The tone she was using was more scolding than it was affectionate._

* * *

Sammy breathing was now growing heavy from all her laughter. "That is hilarious," she said breathlessly. "I never would've guessed."

"Every underdog has its day," Dawn said sagely. "And like many things, Duncan learned it the hard way. It really is too sad. Things could have been different if only he would have let them be."

Sammy sat up and was about to ask what the moonchild meant but a yawn came out of her mouth instead. She turned to Dawn but before she could say anything, the smaller girl pointed to the door that was south of her bed.

"You'll find the shower in there," she said without missing a beat. "Please go ahead and use it first. A nice cleansing will do you good."

Too tired to wonder just how Dawn was able to do what she did, Sammy gathered up a set of pajamas from her bag and headed to the bathroom.

Meanwhile after Trent had left Sammy to get acquainted with Dawn, he went to his room and was surprised to see his own roommate already there.

"Yo," the human soundboard greeted. Trent grinned and slapped the beatboxer a high-five as he walked inside. "Beardo," he greeted back.

Contrary to some of the other players, Trent didn't think that Beardo deserved to be eliminated first. Sure he could have done more but ultimately the loss had been to everyone going along with Leonard's incredibly stupid idea of building a wizard's tower. The music man himself thought that the kid who honestly thought he was a wizard should've gotten the first boot. If not him, the Dave who was recently proving himself to the former stars to be an uptight, wimpy, snobbish hypochondriac who spent more time complaining or attempting to woo Sky then try and win.

Before filming for the season had started, the old contestants were allowed to see the auditions of the newbies that Chris was bringing in. Trent requested to be Beardo's roommate almost immediately after seeing his tape. Besides being impressed with his sounds and skills at the turntables, Trent wanted to help Beardo overcome his crippling shyness. Though not too many of his friends knew, Trent himself had been quite shy when he was younger so he empathized with the younger boy.

Naturally Beardo didn't say anything after landing at the Playa. In fact, he didn't say anything for a full day but he and Trent nevertheless got along swimmingly after the latter had complimented his unique talent. Trent felt honored to be the first person Beardo had a full conversation with at the resort a day later.

"I wanna take a quick shower before I hit the sack," Trent said as he began to search through his things. "You don't mind if I go first, do you big guy?" Beardo shook his head and gave Trent a thumbs-up, accompanied by a quick_ ding-ding!_

Then the cool guy finally found what he had been searching through his backpack for; his MP3 player. "Thanks pal," he said before shuffling through his numerous songs.

Anyone who knew Trent knew he was prone to singing in the shower. Trent figured that if was going to, he should at least know what song to sing ahead of time instead of wasting hot water trying to decide.

"Let's see," Trent muttered. "Beatles? Nah. Sang one of their songs yesterday. George Strait? Nah. There too many country haters that'd complain. Maroon 5? Maybe." He paused and rubbed his eyes to make sure he was reading the title of the next track right.

"Alligator mating call?" he read incredulously. He looked over to Beardo who shrugged in equal confusion. "Izzy must've gotten her hands on this again," he sighed. "I'd hate to see what kind of songs she puts on other people's players when she gets her hands on them."

He made a mental note to delete that later and resumed his search. Being an avid music lover and open to listening to more than just one genre, this process could take Trent a while. Beardo didn't mind though. He simply put on some headphones and listened to his own tunes as he started to read a hip-hop magazine.

"Here we go," Trent eventually decided. "Billy Joel. I haven't even listened to one of his songs for, I don't even remember how long." Scooping up his pajamas and setting his MP3 player down, he went into the bathroom.

Closing the door behind him, he then turned on the water and shed his clothes before stepping in and taking pleasure in the hot cascade.

_"Oh, oh, oh,_

_For the longest time_

_Oh, oh, oh_

_For the longest time_

_If you said goodbye to me tonight_

_There would still be music left to write..."_

Naturally Trent's voice began to carry as he sang so that if anyone were in the hallway at that moment, they would've heard him singing. However, he was completely unaware that a certain new friend of his was singing in the shower too.

_"One I thought my innocence was gone_

_Now I know that happiness goes on.."_

Sammy loved to sing in the shower but because Amy didn't like her voice (despite it sounding exactly like her own) she never really had much of an opportunity to back home unless her sister was out of the house.

Unbeknownst to both of them, a small audience was listening to the both of them sing as they made their way down the hallway and to their room.

"Whoa girl," a well-known loud and proud sister said. "You think those two know they're singing the same song at the same time?"

The person whom she was talking to, a somewhat gloomy looking goth shook her head. "No," she answered with a frown. "No I don't think so."

* * *

**Okay, I am tired. But at the same time pleased. This was my longest chapter yet and I really hope you guys like reading it as much as I did writing it. Now, before anyone throws any more rocks let's get to those surprises I promised:**

**First off, since Christmas is now just one week away, (YAY!) I plan on my next submission to be not the next chapter of this story, but a holiday-themed oneshot featuring of course, Trent and Sammy. But not to worry, as I will work on Chapter Four before New Year's.**

**As for the other surprise, well I think I'd rather show you that instead of telling you. A bit of a prequel if you will of a project I do plan on writing next year if you all like the idea enough.**

* * *

_**Coming in Summer 2015...**_

* * *

*A young girl wearing a red and white cheerleading uniform appears before a laptop's monitor. She gives a wave while smiling cheerfully*

"Hi there to everyone watching this video! My name is Sammy Prescott. Not Samey!...Er, well there's an explanation for why I just said that but you'll have to keep watching if you're interested in seeing it. If this tape was discovered when it was supposed to then I say "Hey!" to the 2036 Freshman class of Wawanawkwa High School! As I'm sure you know by now, it's always been our school's tradition for every freshman class to dig up a time capsule buried by the senior class that preceded it by twenty years. I'm only a junior at the moment of making this video, but I wanted to get a head start of what I'd leave behind.

This series of video diaries I'm putting into my class's capsule is meant to show kids that no matter how bad life can seem, you can pull through with help from the right people. I should know because well, my life isn't exactly what'd you call glamorous. You see, I have a twin sister-her name is Amy-who has made it her mission to make me miserable as often as she can. She's the cheer captain at our school..."

* * *

_"It's called the reverse pyramid which involves the least-important person, i.e. **Samey**, being at the bottom while holding everybody else up."_

* * *

"She's also the assistant manager at the movie theater where I work..."

* * *

_"Some idiot took his eight year old brother into the new **Blood Bath 3: Revenge of the Zombie Counselors in**** Training,** so guess who's on vomit-mopping duty?"_

* * *

"And pretty much everyone's favorite..."

* * *

_"I am so sorry that I wasn't a good enough influence on my slacker little sister. I've tried but she just refuses to listen to me."_

* * *

"But luckily enough I've got five best friends who have always got my back and don't fall for Amy's lies. They're strong..."

* * *

_"Oh you did not just disrespect my girl! Ya better take back what ya said, or you're gettin' a beat-down!"_

* * *

"...brave..."

* * *

_"Check it out you guys! I'm gonna shoot ten free-throws with my eyes closed and on a unicycle! To the extreme!"_

* * *

"...willing to see the good in others..."

* * *

_"Friends, you do not understand! His aura isn't always that gray! He is in great emotional pain!"_

* * *

"...not afraid to be who they are..."

* * *

_"Would it make you feel better if you heard a little jazz? You know my lips can be a nice trumpet. Boop-boop-boop-booooo!"_

* * *

"...and, *she blushes a little* really sweet."

* * *

_"You're not a spare Amy, you're you. Sammy you're kind, caring, smart, cool, you're one of a kind. Remember that."_

* * *

"These video diaries are about teenage life. If you have friends like mine, you can survive. Yep, it's just me and the gang against the world."

* * *

**So have I manage to impress you all? I'm sure you can all guess who Sammy's five best friends are. Total Drama characters thrown into an AU based off of 6teen. It's something that I've been thinking about for months and if you guys like it I plan on getting to work on it come May. I would like to start earlier but I really do need to focus more in school.**

**Anyway, I'll just need a day to rest before starting the Christmas Trammy oneshot. I hope you'll all read that once it's published to.**

**Hasta La Bye-Bye!**


	4. Family Day Fears

**Hey thee everybody. So, how many times will I have to say I'm sorry for not having this chapter out when I said I would? Let's just make it brief and say I apologize to all of you an infinite amount of times. As much as I love writing, it can get really frustrating for me sometimes. When I have the muse, I don't have time and vice versa. But enough of that. To make it up to you, I have another special surprise for you guys at the end of the chapter. If you liked the preview for, "Just Me and the Gang," you'll love the other plan I have for the summer! But before we get started, I'd like to dedicate this to a great actor, writer, and human being who has recently passed on. To Mr. Leonard Nimoy, who truly did live long and prosper, the world will miss you dearly.**

* * *

Trent, like hundreds of teenagers all over the world, loved his sleep. After stepping out of the shower and throwing on his pajamas the night before, the musician immediately started to snooze the second he plopped onto his bed. It had been hours since then and there was virtually nothing in the world that could get Trent to leave his slumber.

_"You ain't nothin' but a hound dog_

_Cryin' all the time_

_You ain't nothin' but a hound dog_

_Cryin' all the time"_

Trent's eyes shot open as music began to fill the room. He looked over to the cell phone on his nightstand and groaned. Nothing in the world except a call from his family. Like many people are wont to do, Trent had a personalized ringtone for each and every person on his list of contacts. Naturally, for every member of his family there was a song by one of his favorite musicians when they called, the King Elvis Presley. Hearing Hound Dog play only meant one thing to the cool guy.

Allowing his eyes to close again, Trent reached around for the phone and brought it to his ear.

"Hey there Dad," he said with a yawn. "What's up?"

_"Good morning there Bogey!" _an older voice cheerily greeted from the other end of the line. _"How's my favorite son today?"_

Trent gave a small chuckle hearing his father use his old nickname. It was one that only those closest to him knew about and was hardly ever used by anyone that wasn't related to him. In fact, none of his Total Drama peers had any idea of it or the meaning behind it, excepting a few.

As a child, whenever Trent's grandparents were unable to babysit him, he would be left in the care of his four older sisters; Marie, Karen, Eileen, and Ramona. Being the youngest in the family as well as the only boy, Trent was often outvoted whenever the five of them discussed what they would do together. Given that all of the girls were hopelessly obsessed with love, they were most likely to watch romance movies. Not the popular romantic comedies of the time though, but instead the classics that could only be seen in black and white.

Contrary the way he would eventually be like, a pint-sized Trent was quick to loathe the idea of love. To him, every girl (his sisters especially) were icky and kissing was even worse. Unfortunately, no begging, pouting, or tantrum could dissuade the girls from what they wanted to watch and as he promised his parents to behave himself, Trent had no choice but to sit through it all.

But one day came and the boy actually found himself enjoying the movie his sisters had chosen. The main reason came in the form of its star, the late and great Humphrey Bogart. Though at the time Trent really only understood a small part of what the actor was saying in the movie, that didn't change the fact that he thought of Mr. Bogart being the toughest of the tough and coolest of the cool. Pretty soon, Trent would try his best to act and talk the same way he did, frequently calling people, "Sweetheart," or saying, "Here's looking at you kid." His family thought it was hilarious, his granddad eventually deciding to give him Humphrey's famed moniker, "Bogey."

"He's doing okay," Trent replied. "Though he's honestly a little annoyed that his father decided to call him early in the morning, he's okay."

_"Early?"_ his father repeated incredulously. _"Kiddo I think you need to take a look at your clock. It's nearly eleven and normally you're up by now."_

Once more Trent's eyes opened in surprise. He sat up to do as his dad suggested and looked at the clock on the wall. Reading that the time was in fact 10:32 he realized he had slept in considerably late. On most mornings he would've been up two hours ago at the most.

He then looked around the room and found that Beardo wasn't around which explained why he hadn't heard him make any noise when his phone started to ring.

_"Well I have gone a couple days without sleeping properly,"_ Trent thought to himself. _"Beardo probably thought I should stay in bed a little bit longer than usual and turned off my alarm."_ Making a mental note to thank the hairy boy later, he turned his attention back to his father. "Sorry Dad. I've been a little off these past few days."

_"Would that article by Martha Mallory have anything to do with it?"_ his father asked. Trent's jaw dropped like a lead weight. If his father knew about the article, then his whole family knew about it. His mind immediately began to swarm with images of their different reactions when he heard his father speak again. _"May I take that silence as a yes son?"_

Knowing there was no point in denying anything, Trent capitulated. "Yeah it is," he admitted. "I'd been trying for hours on end to come up with a new song idea. Had about as much luck as Mom does trying to keep a fresh batch of cookies away from Ramona." The youngest of Trent's sisters, Ramona was infamous for two things; a penchant for mischief and a sweet tooth. No one ever had to guess who would sneak into the cookie jar, the culprit was always the same.

"So just how badly is everyone taking it?" Trent asked. He heard his father let out a throaty laugh and couldn't help but smile again.

_"I'm sure you can guess,"_ the man replied. _"You know how your mother gets when she's frustrated, she's cooked so much that everyone's actually starting to get sick of it."_ Hearing that made Trent yearn for his mother's homemade food. As good as everything served at the Playa was, it just didn't have the same taste as some of his favorites from back home. _"Even old Blues is getting tired of eating beignets. Hey, that reminds me. He'll want to say hello. Here Blues!"_

A few seconds went by and Trent soon heard barking on the line followed by a distinct howl.

"Aw, I miss you too boy," Trent said to his pet. Blues, a bluetick coonhound, was named not after his breed but instead after the music genre that he loved to hear Trent play on his guitar. Having received the dog as a birthday present when he was eleven, Trent found a loving companion who was more than willing to "sing" along to any sad tune that he heard. It might've driven his sisters crazy, but Trent loved it just the same.

_"Yeah, he can't wait to see you again son,"_ his father said having raised the phone back up to him. _"With at least three women in the house on a daily basis, he's made a new hiding spot for himself in my office. Speaking of which, Ramona has made it her mission to doodle on every picture of Martha Mallory she can find. She even did so while someone was holding a magazine in their hands! And she wonders why they threw it at her head."_

Trent ran a hand through his raven hair and sighed. His sister, the college sophomore, never once seemed to act maturely. Had it not been for the fact that she used to be four inches taller than him, he would've thought himself to be older than her.

_"Now Eileen on the other hand thinks that you have it easy,"_ his father went on. _"Apparently British critics are twenty times harsher than Canadian critics could ever be. At least that's what she said when she called yesterday."_ The second youngest of Trent's sisters Eileen was studying abroad in England. Trying her best to divide her time between going to school and performing her own compositions, she had yet to really make it big but always assured her family she was enjoying herself regardless.

"And what about Karen?" Trent asked. The second oldest child, Karen had gotten engaged to her old high school flame about a year ago while Trent was watching season four. With her wedding only two months away, he didn't have to be at home to know that her emotions weren't exactly stable.

Now it was his father's turn to sigh. _"She and Chad actually got into a fight about it if you can believe it."_

Trent could believe it. Chad, Karen's fiancée, was a nice enough guy. There was no doubt in Trent's mind that he truly did love Karen but they did argue more than a few times. He honestly reminded Trent of Courtney, a preppie, organized type who preferred everything done in a certain way. Karen on the other hand was much more easygoing. She and Chad often clashed over things she would let go but he would try to continue to harp on. But since their fights never really lasted long (a half hour at the most), no one suggested they split from each other.

_"Chad thought that Martha Mallory didn't point out all the flaws in your music which incited Karen into pointing all of _his _flaws,_" Trent's father explained. _"It went on for about twelve minutes and then cried and apologized to each other ten times."_ Trent chuckled again. Nuptials were definitely something that brought out people's crazy sides.

_"And as for Marie,_" his father went on. _"Well she had her hands full convincing Bobby that Martha Mallory wasn't trying to be mean and isn't out to get you."_

Marie, who was ten years older than Trent, had gotten married right after she finished college to a man she thought would love her forever. Unfortunately, there was no such joy as the jerk (Trent hated to even think of his name) ran off the minute Marie revealed she was pregnant. It was his loss in the end though, as little Bobby was something that everyone in the family (Chad included) couldn't help but adore. At five years old, Bobby's favorite three things in the world were pirates, a toy ukulele, and his Uncle Trent.

_"Marie wanted me to say that she disagrees with everything in the article and she hopes you're not gonna have any problems tomorrow."_

Trent's brows furrowed in confusion. Why would he have any problems tomorrow? It wouldn't be different from any other day. The most that would happen is watching another episode of Pahkitew Island.

_"Bogey? You still there kiddo?"_

The cool guy's wandering thoughts were broken by the older man's voice. "Uh, yeah Dad," he replied. "Um...what is tomorrow?"

_"You forgot didn't you?"_ his father said in an amused tone. _"You really do take after your old man, do you know that?"_

"What did I forget?" Trent demanded, feeling a little ticked. He could just see the smirk on his father's face.

A formerly workaholic lawyer, Francis Trenton Travis had forgotten a few family engagements in the past and Trent used to swear that he would never do something like that. But alas, it appeared that the old saying was true, a person will inevitably turn into one if not both their parents.

_"Well why don't you take a minute to think it over, Bogey?" _his dad suggested. _"Or should I start calling you 'Francis Jr.' now?"_

Trent rolled his eyes and allowed the older man to laugh a little at him. Though he may have found Francis teasing him to be slightly irksome, it was still much better than having to deal with the uptight, boring stiff his dad used to be.

He did as he was told and thought. No one had a birthday during the summer, nor was there anyone's anniversary he knew of, so what had he forgotten tomorrow to be?

_"Give up yet son?"_ Trent sighed at his father's question and flopped onto his back. "All right yes," he admitted. "Now can you please tell me what happens tomorrow?"

_"It's the Total Drama Family Day Trent,"_ Francis answered. _"The one scheduled by the producers." _Realization finally hit Trent like a ton of bricks. Feeling a great deal of self-loathing, the musician smacked his own forehead and groaned. "Aw crap!"

Starting before Total Drama Action's finale, the producers would allot one day for every Total Drama competitor to spend time with their families. These days were usually scheduled for the end of the current season but since the network wanted production for Pahkitew Island to start immediately after All Stars, Family Day had been the new season did start, the crew noticed their mistake and hurriedly set a date and began sending out invitations. However, since the planned day was during the middle of the season, they also had to invite the families of Rodney and everyone that was invited before him.

To most, Family Day was a huge celebration filled with fathers and their corny jokes and mothers fretting over how thin their children had gotten since they last saw them. To Trent, it was much more than that. It was a day he promised to put on a special performance for a little boy who said he wanted to be just like him. Bobby would come with his mother and grandmother expecting a show, and Trent had blanked out on asking some of the others help him put one on.

"Mom is gonna kill me."

* * *

"Mom and Dad are going to kill me!"

Elsewhere in the Playa's ballroom, Sammy was having her own fair share of worries. Having stumbled inside on her way to get herself some breakfast, the nice twin had a nice first meeting with Bridgette and Geoff who were going over what decorations to use. Though initially happy to become acquainted with both of them, she now found herself filled with dread at the thought of Amy's parents (who were of course also hers) coming.

Ever the compassionate soul, Bridgette gently placed her hand on Sammy's back while attempting to console her. "I'm sure you're blowing things out of proportion Sammy," she said soothingly. "Yeah you may have tricked Amy into eating the Manchineel fruit, but think back on everything she did do to you before that. Your parents might not be too proud of what you did, but I'm sure they understand _why_ you did it."

The two girls sat at a table as Geoff stood by a ladder, looking through differently colored streamers before hanging any up. Sammy was currently slumped down in her seat with her face in her hands. "You don't understand!" she protested. "Amy will twist everything around to make what I did seem ten times worse than anything she did! That's what she does and has been doing since we were kids!"

"That's really harsh bra," Geoff spoke up in sympathy. "I can't believe someone could like that toward their twin!" He placed the streamers aside and sat down next to Bridgette. "I always thought twins had great bonds with each other. What's Amy's damage?"

Sammy lifted her head up from her hands and gave a sad shrug. "Believe me, I wish I knew," she replied. "It's not like I ever did anything before we came onto Total Drama to make her treat me the way she does. Though honestly, I'm more concerned with just being apart from her than her reasons for picking on me."

"If you want, Geoff and I can vouch for you when you talk to your parents," Bridgette offered with a smile. "And I'm sure some of the others wouldn't mind speaking up for you too. We've _all_ seen the crap your sister pulled on the island and most of us weren't fans of it."

The cheerleader's eyes widened in shock. "You'd really do that for me?" The blonde couple happily nodded. "I appreciate it, but why? You guys barely know me."

"It's called 'empathy' little dudette," Geoff explained. "We've all had to deal with a few Amy's before and know where you're coming from. Besides, you _just_ started standing up for yourself. If you start to back down now, Amy will never let you out from under her thumb."

The party lover was right as Sammy knew Amy to be nothing if not opportunistic. If she let her fears of what her parents thought intimidate her, then her sister wouldn't be that far behind them. What's more is that giving into her would be undoing everything that Jasmine strove to teach her. Sammy couldn't insult her friend that way. "You guys are right. No way am I going back to being her slave!"

Hearing their new friend speak with such confidence brought smiles to Geoff and Bridgette both. "Nice!" the former cheered as the latter began to think. "Now let me see. Beth and DJ will definitely want to say something, Cameron too...Who else should we ask Schmoopy-Boo?"

Geoff tipped his favorite hat in thought, pondering the question. "Well, how about Trent?"

"What about me?"

Sammy had to grip her chair to prevent herself from jumping up in surprise. Turning around, she could feel her ears already start turning red when she looked to see a slightly tired Trent standing in the doorway of the ballroom.

Standing up to Amy was gonna be hard. Being around Trent without blurting her feelings out to him was gonna be exponentially harder.

* * *

**And that does it for this installment of this story. As you can see, Sammy and Trent both have some upcoming problems that may be or may not be easy to take care of. You also got a tidbit of Trent's family. Hope you guys enjoy it! **

**Oh wait a minute, I nearly forgot something. The surprise I mentioned before the chapter started! Well here it is! But I won't be explaining it, I'll let the host that we all know and the contestants loathe have that honor.**

* * *

"Yo! What's up Total Drama fans? Bet you weren't expecting to see my impeccably handsome mug back on TV so soon!"

The narcissistic host with the most Chris McLean was standing on a sandy beach as he spoke to the camera. What was noticeably striking about the area surrounding him, was a massive cliff several hundred feet behind him. One that was in the shape of a human skull.

"Even so, here I am back on our old home away home, Boney Island; the location for what promises to be our greatest season yet!" Chris continued with great enthusiasm. "After last season's finale, I've taken some time to read some of the many requests you fans mail into us." He then chuckled smugly and smirked. "Well actually, I had Chef Hatchet and the interns do it. There were like over a thousand letters! Point is, I know what you guys want and am happy to say you shall have it."

He then began to walk down the beach as he continued to talk. "More than anything we've been asked to do two things; another, _better_, all-stars season, and a season featuring Total Drama's biggest underdogs. But instead of deciding between the two, we'll be doing both! This is why the fans love me, naturally."

He then pulled out a remote control as Chef Hatchet wheeled a large TV monitor over to where he was standing. "Thank you Chef," Chris said. "This summer, we're pitting the best of the best against the worst of the worst." He pressed a button on the remote and various images began to flash across the screen, each featuring one of the show's competitors.

"Beth, Cameron, Courtney, Dave, Gwen, Jasmine, Jo, Lightning, Lindsay, Owen, Scott, Shawn and Sky will try and stick it to a team of Amy, Anne Maria, B, Beardo, Brick, Dawn, Eva, Noah, Rodney, Samey, Staci, Trent and Tyler! Twenty-six teens, but only one can win the grand prize of not one, not two, but FIVE...MILLION...DOLLARS!"

Chris turned off the monitor and grinned. "Who will it be? You'll just have to watch it and see! Right here on TOTAL...DRAMA...ONCE AGAIN!"

* * *

**There you have it guys. Once summer comes around, which will be the middle of May for me, this and Just Me and the Gang will be my swan songs!...I'm hoping. I've had ideas for a fan season of Total Drama for a long time now so I figured why not just write one? Of course for a story this big I'll need more time which is why I'm sorry to say that I can't start before I'm done with school this semester.**

**So tell me what you all think of the idea of Total Drama Once Again! You love it, hate it, or wanna wait till I've actually written the first chapter before saying anything? (shrugs) I can wait if the answer is the last one. Shippers beware, not only is old love staying strong but there will be quite a few new couples this season, maybe Trent and Sammy will be one of them. (I'm not telling!) Who out of the players do you think will have the greatest friendship, or the fiercest rivalry and who are you expecting to see as the season's main antagonist? **

**Anyone who has ideas for challenges feel free to PM them to me because as I'm sure you've guessed, there will be many for this. Time for me to wrap this up by saying tickle that review button and say what you most want to happen in this new season! **

**And that's the end!**


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